Drone War ‘Terrorizes’ Yemenis, Expert Tells Senate Committee

The Obama administration’s drone war in Yemen “terrorizes” the local population, kills civilians regularly, and helps al-Qaeda recruit new members by sowing anti-American sentiment, according to testimony from a Yemeni activist in a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

“Just six days ago, my village was struck by a drone, in an attack that terrified thousands of simple, poor farmers,” Farea Al-Muslimi told the Senate Judiciary Committee in a hearing on the legality of the drone war. “The drone strike and its impact tore my heart, much as the tragic bombings in Boston last week tore your hearts and also mine.”

“What radicals had previously failed to achieve in my village,” al-Muslimi said, “one drone strike accomplished in an instant: there is now an intense anger and growing hatred of America,” adding that he has “seen Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula use US strikes to promote its agenda and try to recruit more terrorists.”

Rosa Brooks, Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, told the Senate that the Obama administration’s drone war undermines the rule of law.

“When a government claims for itself the unreviewable power to kill anyone, anywhere on earth, at any time, based on secret criteria and secret information discussed in a secret process by largely unnamed individuals, it undermines the rule of law,” Brooks said.

Brooks also cited the Justice Department’s leaked memo on targeted killings, reminding the committee that the Obama administration’s novel conception of an “imminent” threat of attack – a required stipulation for the use of force abroad – “seems, in itself, like a substantial departure from accepted international law definitions of imminence. ”

The leaked legal memo refers to what it calls a “broader concept of imminence” than what has traditionally been required, like actual intelligence of an ongoing plot against the US.

“The condition that an operational leader present an ‘imminent’ threat of violent attack against the United States does not require the United States to have clear evidence that a specific attack on U.S. persons and interests will take place in the immediate future,” the memo states.

“That concept of imminence has been called Orwellian, and although that is an overused epithet, in this context it seems fairly appropriate,” Brooks said.

Good to see the drone issue finally facing some scrutiny in the legislature. What a great case brought by Rosa Brooks from Georgetown University Law Center. Hopefully this hearing will begin to bring to light the scope of the madness of the Obama drone campaign.

America is at war with rest of the world looking for friends.., to joining its war against whatever, whoever and wherever.., as long as the government can pay to countries providing the system with a military base is a good deal for pentagon or state department.., that alone is a method in terrorizing people…, by using drone killing and terrorizing people is the business part of public relation adopted by this or that house or….

The Drone War is synonymous with permanent war. There will be no direct US causualties (except those that our government decides ex parte to execute). Without US casualties there will be no pressure, either from withn the military or in the form of a domestic antiwar movement for an end to the war. In fact, since there will be no way for the other side to fight back militarily, the only sort of retaliation available will be in the form of terrorism, which will serve to redouble US public commitment to "the war effort". One assumes this "advantge" has not been overlooked by the architects of the Drone War strategy.

Using assassination as a convenient and easy way to accomplish political goals is unacceptable. Please consider signing this petition to bring back the assassination ban and end drone warfare. : )http://www.change.org/petitions/the-president-of-…

See my reports on USA's efforts at world inhumane domination; note that all USA prisoners of war are chipped and most are targeted for assassination (usually by drones) by intel after learning of activities and associates of the subject.

So long as the United States is at war, their power is preserved, and now that they have attained empire the USA must expand the war or fall, for concerning the arts of peace they know nothing and have never engaged in any employment higher than torture, murder, war. Aristotle